


Gwaine: Home Invader, Handsome Devil, and Hero

by h_d



Series: Gwaine the Hero [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Male Character, Bullying, Coming Out, First Meetings, Friendship, Humor, M/M, Matchmaking, Shyness, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2014-08-23
Packaged: 2018-02-14 09:13:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2186046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h_d/pseuds/h_d
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin's roommate, Gwaine, is aggressively friendly and aggressively straight.  </p>
<p>Well, he's one of those things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gwaine: Home Invader, Handsome Devil, and Hero

**Author's Note:**

> There's some mature language and innuendo, but T seemed like a better rating than M for the overall feel of the fic.
> 
> (Sorry for lack of Brit-picking.)

First-year uni student Merlin Emrys had just finished unloading his small collection of boxes into his very first dorm room. He walked downstairs to his mother's car.

In the time it took him to say goodbye to his mother—who had needed a thousand reassurances that he really was going to be fine on his own—a scruffy man had, in fact, broken in to his room. He was reclining on one of the beds, with his shirt off. He was covered in mud from head-to-toe, and he'd been watching the door. 

_I should have listened to her more closely when she went on about home invasions_ , Merlin thought, vaguely. Funny that he wasn't panicking.

He turned to run away as quickly as possible, resigned to giving up his few possessions rather than his life.

"Oi! Mate! Where do you think you're going?" a voice said, its tone low and mocking. Suddenly a large, dirty hand was covering Merlin's shoulder. _That's that, then,_ he thought.

He turned back around, determined to face his fate with his chin held high.

But the man was extending that same dirty hand in a handshake. "I'm Gwaine," he said. "I'm your roommate."

Merlin looked down at Gwaine's hand. He didn't want to shake it. "Er. You didn't break in, then? I thought you'd broken in. You're so—" He waved a hand to encompass all of Gwaine, all of the dirt, and all of the—er. Muscles. He really had a lot of muscles. Merlin's eyes widened. “You're so dirty,” he said, lamely.

"You thought I'd broken in?" Gwaine guffawed and brought his hand back to Merlin's shoulder, slapping it roughly. When he'd stopped laughing, he continued. "Nah, not me. I brought my things in earlier, went out for a bit, and found some blokes playing rugby over in the park. I think I will grab a shower before dinner, though. Want to join me?"

"In the—in the shower?" Merlin squeaked out.

Gwaine laughed again. "Oh, I think I'm going to _like_ you, mate."

With that, he opened the wardrobe near the bed Merlin hadn't claimed with his own stuff, pulled out a small duffel, and was out the door.

Merlin sat down on the floor, dazed. He was still there when Gwaine returned, his lower half covered in a towel. When Gwaine closed the door behind himself and immediately removed the towel to rub his long hair dry, Merlin covered his eyes with his hands.

Gwaine was laughing at him again. 

"No need for that, mate, no need. Just two blokes sharing a room, we're going to see a lot of each other, aren't we?" Gwaine said. "The only thing I ask is that you don't come in if I leave a tie on the door, right?"

"What?" said Merlin. His hands were still covering his eyes.

"Ah, bit of a code. Means I have someone in here, you know. I met someone today, in fact, and after all, what is uni for, if not—?"

"I get it!" Merlin yelled. "Please stop talking."

\------

Gwaine noticed that Merlin's voice had actually _cracked_ when he'd shouted. Merlin was lovely, lean and pale and—most likely straight, and definitely very inexperienced. Gwaine fell into bed with many different kinds of people, and sometimes he dated more seriously. But he had never let himself hook up with straight boys. Far too many opportunities elsewhere, weren't there? And in general, he preferred a partner far bolder than Merlin. 

But Merlin really did seem like he could do with a friend.

Gwaine sighed and pulled on his clothes.

"You can look now, mate. No stray bollocks to be seen."

Merlin uncovered his eyes and looked up at Gwaine. He was still a little afraid. That wouldn't do.

Gwaine said, "So, want to grab some dinner?"

Merlin nodded mutely and followed as Gwaine led the way to the dining hall.

"You're a fresher, then?" Gwaine asked.

"Yes." 

"Ah. It's my second year. I was going to get a flatshare with a mate, but it fell through," Gwaine said. 

"I can't imagine why," Merlin said.

Gwaine didn't answer for a moment. It seemed Merlin had already developed a dislike for him. 

"I'm not that bad," he said. 

"I'm sure," Merlin said, tersely.

Gwaine shrugged. He'd try again another day.

\------

They got their food and sat down at the same table. There were no further attempts at conversation, Merlin was relieved to find. Gwaine was chuckling at his mobile; Merlin just ate as quickly as possible.

When he'd finished, he looked at Gwaine, said a firm, "Bye, then," and headed back to the room too quickly for Gwaine to reply, intent on unpacking and looking over his schedule.

He made it as far as unpacking his sheets and blankets and making his bed before crawling into it numbly, and curling onto his side. 

_So it's to be temptation every day and no privacy for wanking,_ he thought, darkly. _I bet he'll wank in the room while _I'm_ here, though, and what is that going to do to me? Oh my God, I want to go home._

Eventually, he fell asleep.

\------

For Gwaine, the next six weeks were filled with settling back in to the rhythm of student life and exclusively dating a glorious man named Percy. Merlin was still remarkably uncommunicative, but Gwaine did his best not to take it personally. He did hope that Merlin had made some friends, though.

"Have you joined any activities or anything?" Gwaine asked one day, at breakfast. It had transpired that both he and Merlin were morning people, and in a nearly-empty dining hall, Gwaine would just cheerfully drop his tray across from Merlin, knowing he'd never really refuse him a seat. Merlin wasn't a bad sort. Just fearful.

And apparently, that had been the wrong question. The tentative smile on Merlin's face disappeared, and he flushed pink and looked away. "Er. No. I've been thinking about it, but I don't know."

"Oh, you should, though. I'm playing rugby. No one at this uni takes it seriously, isn't that strange? But I love that about it, makes it great fun. You should come play sometime, lots of friendly blokes," Gwaine said.

"Do I look like a rugby player?" Merlin asked.

"I don't know, could be. But alright. You should come watch, then. Loads of girls watch," Gwaine said, waggling his eyebrows meaningfully. _That will sell him_ , Gwaine thought. 

But Merlin's eyes had narrowed. "What the fuck does that mean?" he said. "I'm not a girl."

"Right. I meant if you wanted to _meet_ a girl, of course," Gwaine continued. "Chat her up, that sort of thing."

"I meet girls all the time," Merlin said.

"I'm not surprised," Gwaine lied. Merlin really was handsome, but he clearly hadn't worked that out yet. 

Merlin stood up abruptly, grabbing his tray. At least half of the food was still uneaten. "I have to go." 

Gwaine knew this wasn't true, and it did hurt, a bit. Merlin's first class on Tuesdays wasn't until the afternoon, and he didn't go anywhere except class, the library, and their dorm. Why was Merlin so determined not to like him? 

\------

Merlin had never really planned to leave his village. Despite the bullying he experienced and the general lack of opportunities, he had sort of thought he'd fall into a quiet little job and live a quiet little life.

But one day, after his best friend Will had pried him out of the locker the rugby team had stuffed him into, he found himself crying.

"How can I ever be happy here?" he sobbed. "Most of these kids aren't going to go anywhere. Someday, I'll be the old man their _grandkids_ throw rocks at." 

"Come off it, Merlin," Will said, pulling him into a rough hug. "Things won't always be the way they are now for you. Before long, you can go off to uni, reinvent yourself. No one will know you there."

"I'll know me," Merlin replied, in a small voice. He wiped his hand across his eyes and sat back.

"Hand me that laptop," Will said. He started typing furiously. "Here. My cousin went here. They have a gay soc group, right? And look here, they even have rules against bullying."

Merlin felt something like excitement about his future for the first time in a long time. "Yeah?"

"Sure. Remember, the cousin who's marrying a bloke? Now, you know I would never want a cock in my arse, but marriage? Honestly, between a cock and marriage, I'll choose the cock, every time," Will said. 

"Shut the fuck up, Will," Merlin said. He grabbed the laptop and stared at the page, which showed a full schedule of events: pub nights, danceclub nights, even a film night (which was far more Merlin's style). 

"Thanks, mate," Merlin said, sincerely. 

"He goes from 'shut the fuck up' to 'thanks.' What a shite best friend," Will said, standing up. "You want some water? Oh, nice, now he's not even talking to me."

Merlin was barely listening, enraptured with the website as he was. 

He had started to imagine a life where things were very different, and after that day he'd worked harder at school. Teaching maths seemed like something he could do, and it was a program the university offered. 

All that he needed was to explain to his mum.

"I'd like to go away for university, Mum. What do you think? It's in Camelot," he said.

She was shocked. "On your own? But it's so far away, and you won't know anyone," she said.

"That's sort of the point," he said.

"What do you mean?"

He'd hoped he wouldn't have to explain this part unless he was introducing his own future husband to his mother, which would probably never even happen, but he could see that she wouldn't understand otherwise.

"I'm gay," he said. He bit his lip. He couldn't guess what she'd say.

She nodded, smiling. "Okay, dear. Thank you for telling me."

"That's all? Shouldn't there be more?" he said.

She looked a bit flustered, her eyes darting all over the room as though searching for something. Finally, she said, "Oh right! Of course. You know that I love you, and support you." She nodded again, once, looking satisfied with herself.

"This is not the reaction I expected," he said.

"Oh, I've ruined this, haven't I? Ruined your moment," she said. "And I tried so hard!"

"What on earth, Mum?" he said, truly baffled.

"I knew you would tell me one day, so I looked up what to do—" she said.

"You did what? Where?" he said.

"On the internet, dear. I looked it up, and it said that I shouldn't say that already I knew, even if I did know, because that would make you feel like you didn't have any control over things. I would never want that," she replied.

Merlin hugged her, then. "I love you, Mum," he said.

She patted his back and pulled away to look at him. "Yes, thank you, dear. But what does any of that have to do with going away?"

"Ah. Well, I feel that I could sort of be a new man, you know?" he said.

"Find a new man, you mean?" she said, laughing.

"Mum!" He was scandalised. "No. Anyway, I know where I'd like to go. Will's cousin went there and they have a club I could join."

She nodded and gave him a sad half-smile. "I understand. I'll miss you, though. And you'll have to be careful! Camelot is a much bigger place than this one. People break into homes there all the time, I see it on the news!"

\------

Since the day his mother and his best friend had taught him how to use the internet, which was still a little humbling if he were honest, Merlin had been back to the website for Camelot University's LGBT group probably a thousand times.

Now here he was, having said goodbye to Will and to his mum so that he could live his life like he wanted to, and he'd already missed the first film night, two interesting-sounding lecture and discussion evenings, and several of the pub and danceclub nights. 

There was something called "a mingle" this weekend, which sounded _terrifying_. He stared at the event's description on his mobile, as his other hand mechanically brought chips from his plate to his mouth. "Talk over how student life is treating you with other LGBT students. A few alumni will be present to answer questions about life after uni. Saturday 27 October at 6 pm, Student Union, Ground Floor," it read.

He heard a voice behind him. "Oi, what's got you looking like that? One of your girls send a nude, then? Give me a peek, mate."

Fuck, it was Gwaine. Merlin could only hope Gwaine hadn't seen what he was doing. He could _almost_ imagine himself going to one of the events, but he thought telling his roommate was probably a bad idea. His very straight, very hot roommate.

"No, nothing like that," Merlin said, as calmly as he could. "Just looking at the reading for class tomorrow."

Gwaine dropped his tray loudly, but before he sat down, he plucked the mobile from Merlin's fingers, quick as a flash. He looked at the screen. "Ah," he said. He smiled and handed the mobile back to Merlin, looking no less inappropriately friendly than usual. "Sorry to invade your privacy."

Merlin's eyes widened. He felt paralysed. Gwaine had—but then he had—

Gwaine didn't look sorry at all. His eyes were twinkling with mischief. 

"Is this what's been bothering you, then?" Gwaine said. "It's alright, mate."

Merlin said nothing. He couldn't; he felt too shaky inside.

"You don't have to answer me. Oh, chips? How'd I miss those today?" Gwaine said, stealing a few from Merlin's plate. "I have some texting to do. Someone special to get back to, if you know what I mean." He waggled his eyebrows annoyingly.

Merlin had lost most of his appetite. He finished eating his burger in silence and left the plate of chips in front of Gwaine's tray. 

"Cheers!" he heard Gwaine call as he retreated to their room.

\------

After dinner, Gwaine went to the library to visit his friend Elena, who worked there. 

"Gwaine!" she called, when she saw him heading towards her desk. "What a nice surprise!"

A student nearby shushed her. She clapped a hand over her mouth. 

"Hey, Elena," Gwaine whispered when he reached the desk. He tossed his head to the side, and didn't miss her eyes tracking the movement of his hair. He wasn't above flirting to get what he wanted. She put the "Next Desk" sign out and motioned him into the back room.

"So, I need a favour, on Saturday night. What do you say?" he asked. "Could you help me out?" 

"Gwaine, you devil. Mithian and I don't see other people anymore, I told you that," she said. "Also, I have to work that night."

"Yes, you did tell me, and I told you that was the right decision, remember? Honestly, I have never been so _neglected_ in bed than I was that night with you two, the _nerve_ of some people," he said, winking. 

"You're something else," she said, swatting his arm. "What do you need, then?" 

"I was hoping you were working on Saturday, like usual. The thing is, I want to help out my roommate," he said. He flashed his mobile, on which he had a very cute photo he'd taken of Merlin, without his knowledge. "Have you seen this kid around?" 

She nodded. "Sure. He's here every day," she said. 

"Okay, on Saturday, around six o'clock, you'll need to fake a power outage. Just for, say, 15 minutes. And if this kid comes in, tell him he should head home, because it's out for the night. Basically, convince him that the library's closed, however you can. Will your supervisor be in?" he asked, holding up his crossed fingers to show her. 

“Mithian's my supervisor at the weekends,” she said. “So that's not a problem. But why?” 

“I can't tell you. I mean, I might be able to text you after, to explain. Hopefully. But it wouldn't be right to tell you now,” he said. He gave her his most charming grin. 

She laughed. “You're ridiculous. Alright, we can do it,” she said. “But I'll expect the full details of this eventually, you know, and you shouldn't leave anything out.” 

“Thanks, Elena, you're brilliant,” he said, relieved, but making no promises. 

\------

Merlin headed back from the library late Saturday afternoon. The clumsy blonde girl at the desk had grinned at him when he checked out. That was strange. She usually seemed so distracted. 

He planned to eat in the dining hall and maybe watch a film on his laptop, as he usually did on Saturday nights. Gwaine was probably out playing rugby, meaning dinner would at least be quiet. 

After dinner, he saw a tie looped around his doorknob. Again. 

_Oh, fuck no,_ he thought. 

He turned around and trudged back to the library. He checked his pocket, relieved to find his earbuds there. Oh well. If he wanted to take a break from studying, he could still watch a film. 

As he drew nearer, though, he could see that the lights inside were all off. The sign on the door read “Closed.” 

They were supposed to be open until 9 on Saturdays. Where would he go now? 

He remembered that there were some carrels on the upper floor of the student union, and headed that way. 

As he entered the building, he could see the lobby was far more crowded than usual. Everyone was dressed fairly well, and a few people were even wearing suits. Well, it was nothing to do with him. 

He headed toward the elevator, when he spotted Gwaine. 

His very straight, rugby-playing roommate, who was supposed to be shagging some girl right now, but was instead sitting on _a man's lap_. Merlin gaped like a fish.

Gwaine stood up, turning around to kiss the man. Merlin saw a large hand grip Gwaine's arse—not that he was looking, oh my God—and squeeze. Gwaine extricated himself and walked towards Merlin.

“Merlin!” Gwaine said. “I'm so glad to see you.”

“But—”

“You really shouldn't make assumptions about people, Merlin,” he said, placing his hand on Merlin's shoulder and speaking in a quiet voice. “For example, I assumed you were straight, and if I hadn't done that, I could've been helping you out all this time.”

“Helping me out?” Merlin said. He felt his face heating up. “In what way?” Gwaine was incredibly attractive, he was, but Merlin really didn't want to do anything with him. He was far too much.

“Why does everyone think I mean that?” Gwaine said. “No, never mind. I meant, I could've brought you to one of these events, and introduced you to people.”

“Oh,” said Merlin. 

“Now, we don't have to do that tonight, either,” Gwaine said. “I can just tell my boyfriend Percy over there, or anyone else who asks after you, that you forgot your key or something, alright? But is that something you'd like to do?”

Merlin thought it over. He looked around the room, taking it all in. People looked relaxed and happy, but Merlin still felt afraid and he wasn't sure what sort of company he'd be. Still, this was what he'd wanted for a long time, and he could see knowing Gwaine would make it all a bit easier.

He turned back to Gwaine. “Okay. Yes. I'm ready, I think,” he said.

Gwaine's grin was huge. He grabbed Merlin by the upper arms and kissed his cheek. “Come on, then.”

Merlin smiled and let himself be introduced to Percy, who was absolutely huge, and had met Gwaine playing rugby. How odd. 

Nearby, he met Gwen, who was studying metallurgy, and she seemed very sweet if a bit wary of Gwaine, which Merlin could certainly understand. He started up a conversation with her about the practical applications of her subject, but Gwaine poked him in the side and then Merlin was shaking someone else's hand, a woman named Morgana, who turned out to be Gwen's girlfriend.

“Oh, Gwaine,” Morgana cooed. “He is adorable. You old rogue.”

“Wait, adorable? What?” Merlin said. His voice was a little higher-pitched than he would've liked, and he glanced at the door that led back outside.

“Morgana, you're scaring him,” Gwen said. She smiled reassuringly at Merlin.

Gwaine had, distressingly, linked arms with him. “He is cute, isn't he? But I'm with Percy, as you know. Is your wonderful brother here tonight?”

“Yes, Gwaine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Gwen and I made sure he came, just as you asked. You owe us a favour.”

“Right,” Gwaine said. He looked around and then dragged Merlin to the corner of the room.

There was a man sitting there. He was hunched over the table, and appeared lost in thought. Merlin could see that he had blond hair, but his posture made it difficult to tell anything else about him. 

“Arthur,” Gwaine said, and the man raised his head. “This is Merlin, my roommate. This is Merlin's first time here.”

Arthur looked at Merlin, then, and his eyes mirrored the fear Merlin could feel thrilling through his own body. 

Arthur extended his hand. “Arthur Pendragon.” 

“I'm Merlin Emrys,” he said, taking it in his own. Arthur's grip was firm, if a bit clammy. 

Gwaine stepped away and put his hands in his pockets. “So, since you're both freshers, I think you should get to know each other. What do you say?”

Merlin looked at Arthur. Arthur looked at Gwaine.

“Will you leave us alone if we agree?” Arthur said.

“Consider it done,” Gwaine said, winking, waggling his eyebrows, and walking away. Merlin sat down next to Arthur.

“So,” began Merlin. “How about Gwaine, then?” He laughed nervously.

“He has been driving me mad, Merlin. You don't even understand, he tried to get me to play rugby—I am a footie man, thank you! But then it was pub nights, and dancing, and everything else I hate to do. It has been _hideous_. He is not my type. I told him I wasn't interested and he still wouldn't go away,” Arthur said.

Merlin shook his head. “Mate, you have no idea how well I understand,” he said. 

Arthur gave him a small half-smile. “Same for you, then?”

Merlin nodded and cleared his throat. “Er. So what do you like to do, then?”

“I like to watch films. Any kind, really. In fact, I usually stay home and watch one on Saturday nights, but my sister and her girlfriend _insisted_ I come here tonight. It's been very dull. The film night they had was good fun, though.”

“Oh,” Merlin said. “I meant to come to that. Wish I had.” He shrugged, meeting Arthur's eyes again, hoping his meaning was clear enough.

It seemed that it was. Arthur's grin was very wide, and very nice. 

They chatted fairly easily for two shy people, about everything and nothing, and made plans to catch a film together the next day.

**Author's Note:**

> Of course, most universities/colleges have LGBT+ groups, but I was going for a really oblivious Merlin, who kind of built his future around this idea. 
> 
> Also, I hope no one in the library lost some big essay on their laptop when Elena faked the power outage!


End file.
